Month: April 2006

Two Letters Re: The U.S. Housing Bubble–Yea, the Pinprick Cometh

Mr. Rawles, I read the article on the housing bubble on SurvivalBlog and would like to add a bit of evidence to the claim.  I currently own a home in Orlando, Florida and haven’t sold in five months.  This is unheard of for that region, but it is just not me all the houses in the area having the same problem.  Here are a couple of quotes from my real estate agent on the Orlando market: “I just returned from a real estate conference in Tampa.  The main topic was the large amount of time listings are sitting the market …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Poll says 6 out of 10 Americans consider the income tax unfair.    o o o An interesting pre-Y2K diary at the Survival-Center web site.    o o o Commentary from market strategist Emanuel Balarie (quoted at Gold-Eagle.com): “$600 Gold: We Have Only Just Begun“    o o o I wish you all a joyous Easter, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Passover Lamb, Christ Jesus.



The U.S. Housing Bubble– Yea, the Pinprick Cometh

I am now convinced that the housing bubble in The United States is about ready to pop. Once home sellers see that “the Spring buying season” does not reappear along with hay fever this year, they will get panicky. Up to 30% of the homes that have been sold in the past two years have been sold to over-extended speculators who were hoping to “flip” them–taking advantage of the rising house market. The old saying goes “A rising tide raises all ships.” But the inverse is also true. When the flippers realize that they are on a down escalator, they …


Letter Re: Unintended Consequences of a Failure of Basic Services in a Disaster

Mr. Rawles: I have maintained that next to water, food, medicine, and defense; waste disposal is going to be a BIG unexpected problem if and when any prolonged interruption of services occur after 9/11 part 2 or some other calamity eventually happens.   One of the reasons New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) is not rebounding is that garbage that piled up after Katrina is still rotting in the streets.   People that I have seen at my place of work from that area say that less than 5000 people showed up for Mardi-Gras this year because of the stench of rotting garbage …


Letter from Rourke Re: A New Breed of Feral Dogs, by Buckshot

Dear Jim: The article “A New Breed of Feral Dogs”, by Buckshot was excellent.  I think he’s right that far too many of us only have “Lassie” or “Benji” idea of dogs.  One generation back my family had labs and would have trusted them with their lives.  Remember the old dog lover vs. cat lover saying, “If you die alone in your home, your dog will die at your side, but if you have a cat, it will eat you”.  I certainly prefer dogs to cats, but I  was over to friend’s home who had a Doberman and felt very …


Odds ‘n Sods:

For those of you that own .223 AK-47s, I just noticed that the folks at K-VAR got in a batch of those nifty Bulgarian “clear” plastic AK magazines. Tell them that Jim Rawles at SurvivalBlog sent you.    o o o DEA Agent shoots himself in the foot during lecture–stupidity caught on tape    o o o The markets were closed yesterday for Good Friday, but the New York Access (“after hours”) Market was open, and the commercial traders bid spot silver up to $12.91 per ounce! With silver consistently holding over $12.70 and the launch of two silver ETFs …



A New Breed of Feral Dogs, by Buckshot

The biggest myth is that dogs are your friend. People have been around tame dogs their entire lives. A dog is the friendly one, protects you, fights off wild animals for you. He is your best friend. Once a true collapse happens people well have that mindset. The mindset is: dogs are our friends therefore friends are not going to hurt me. Woman with their kind hearts are very vulnerable to attacks. Because in their world if you love enough the dog won’t hurt you. Nothing wrong with women thinking this way today, just a mindset based on a life …


Letter Re: Cell Phone E-911 Tracking

Jim, I think this would come under the heading of privacy….or our losing more and more of it on a daily bases. I got a call from my cell phone company today (US Cellular) they told me that I was going to be required to bring in my old phone…the same one I have had for five years… and trade it for one that was capable of being tracked by 911 (these are the [E-911] ones with GPS chips in them.) I told them that I did not want to. They told me I had no choice. They said that …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A bad omen for the U.S. stock market?    o o o Mike the Blacksmith pointed us to this interview with Dr. Michael Osterholm of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy about H5N Asian Avian Flu.    o o o Middle East expert Ken Timmerman (one of my associates from my days with Defense Electronics magazine) reports on the “Big George” attack plan for war with Iran



TEOTWAWKI and the Life Events Stress Scale

I have recently been pondering the far-reaching implications of a grid-down economic collapse situation–commonly called The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) in survivalist circles. One of the under-emphasized implications of TEOTWAWKI will be the psychological stress of the situation–both upon you and upon your neighbors. For many years, psychologists have used the Holmes-Rahe Social Adjustment Scale (also commonly called the “Life Events Stress Scale”) to gauge the level of stress that their patients are experiencing. I can foresee that a TEOTWAWKI situation will be off the scale for any of your neighbors that are not prepared. …


Letter Re: Illegal Alien Invasion in the United States

Jim: I noticed that you have remained relatively quiet on the millions of illegal aliens that have been demonstrating in dozens of American cities this past week..was wondering if you considered the Marxist led demonstrations that call for the death, expulsion of Americans on our own soil by foreigners a threat or a concern? I find it disheartening that so many are chiming in about potential asteroid strikes yet no comments about the very real and present threat posed by so many millions right in our own midst. Hope American wake up, its seems that the 12-20 million illegal aliens …


Letter Re: Letters on Asteroid or Comet Impact in 2012? by Rourke

Jim: It was funny that the majority of the criticism to my last writing had to do with the Mayan calendar and the Bible Code since I didn’t consider that my main focus and was meant as a lead in. I will say most prophecy is simply too vague to be useful, and the only time it really catches my attention is when separate sources, separated by thousands of miles, hundreds or thousands of years, and of different religions and cultures, somehow reach the same conclusion. My real intent was more so to play “connect the dots” with what NASA …